Tablet computers are a must in my world; I absolutely need one on a daily basis for my teaching career. Unfortunately, tablet PCs are much more expensive than their standard brothers, and the quality can be quite lacking at times. That is why I am excited about the SISO Tablo from Hatech. This tiny PC peripheral can turn any standard laptop or netbook into a tablet pc, and it does it for less than $100.

Using infrared and ultrasonic sensors, the SISO Tabo attaches to the top of your laptop's screen and then connects to the machine through a USB port. Once setup, you can use the pen to draw anywhere on the screen for input or use the pen as a mouse. The Tablo is compatable with Windows XP and Vista and it works with a slew of software programs including Microsoft Office (including OneNote), Adobe PDF, Adobe Illustrator, Microsoft's ink games, and Tablo's bundled inking suite. The system requirements for the device are very humble; you only need 512MB of ram and a 1GHz processor. That means that you could purchase any mid-range netbook and turn it into a uber-economical tablet PC.

Now, if this device could be Mac compatible, or if it ends up being Windows 7 compatible (which is should), it will be a game changer. Imagine a $1000 Apple Tablet PC; or a super-powerful $200 Windows 7 netbook. Both devices would make me exceedingly happy. You can get the SISO Tablo now from Brando.

via SlashGear